The Independent Journalism Center (CJI) calls upon the media outlets to objectively cover the mayoral runoffs in Chisinau and to abide exclusively by the legal and deontological norms set for such periods.
In a news conference at IPN, CJI executive director Nadine Gogu said the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) should show more discernment when adopting statements on the editorial policy during election campaigns presented by media outlets and should act swifter and more determinedly to end any attempts by broadcasters to substitute the informing work with electoral agitation.
“We see that the BCC has somehow preferential treatment towards some of the broadcasters. Not everyone is treated equally. Those who are monitored are penalized, while the broadcasters that weren’t monitored were only warned publicly,” stated Nadine Gogu. She called on the journalists to have an ethical and decent conduct in the runoffs and not to repeat situations from the campaign prior to the first round of voting, when there were presented facts that weren’t of public interest.
Nadine Gogu also said that there are Broadcasting Code provisions that should be obeyed by each broadcaster, even outside the election campaigns. These demand to ensure the pluralism of opinions, equidistance and objectivity. “We will continue our monitoring in the runoffs. I hope that during these two weeks, we will see a more correct and balanced behavior and that the two election runners that remained in the race will be treated equally and non-discriminatorily,” she noted.
Secretary of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections Polina Panainte said the local elections are a good occasion for testing the behavior of media outlets and the authorities during the electoral process. This shows the tendencies for the parliamentary elections that will be held in autumn. “As they reported they will not cover the campaign, some of the TV channels weren’t monitored by the BCC. We would like such behavior not to be repeated in the parliamentary elections that have a much greater effect on the citizens,” she stated. The BCC is requested to react more promptly to the notifications of civil society so as to take decisions in due time and to make sure that the people are provided with objective information about all the election runners.
The TV channels during the election campaign were monitored within the project “Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova” that is financed by USAID, with the effort of the within the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections.
